Wilmington, NC News

Archive for August, 2009

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SOUTHERN SHORES, N.C. — A canal dredging project on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is almost ready to start, five years after the town of Southern Shores first tried to get the project off the ground.

The Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk reported that the seven miles of canals haven’t been dredged in decades. Muck and fallen branches have clogged them.

Two previous attempts failed because the town doesn’t have enough land to dump the dredged material and residents didn’t want it in their neighborhoods. Some who had agreed to take the material changed their minds.

Town manager Charles Read says he’s confident the canals will be dredged because the town has secured signed contracts with two private property owners who will let the spoil be dumped on their land.

The town plans to put the first phase of the project up for bid by next month.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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A canal dredging project on North Carolina’s Outer Banks is almost ready to start, five years after the town of Southern Shores first tried to get the project off the ground.

Associated poll

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One hundred and sixty-seven marijuana plants were seized from Michael Wayne Herdman’s Shallote home on Snapper Street. He is facing six charges, five of which are felonies, including possession with intent to sell, trafficking and manufacturing marijuana.

The pot plants ranged in size from inches tall to more than eight feet. The bust is a result of an eradication operation. Along with the SBI, and a highway patrol helicopter, detectives and undercover agents began searching for growing operations. In just eight hours, the house was spotted, searched and seized. “We’re sure that there’s a lot of it that we have yet to find, and I assure you we will be looking for it,” said Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram.

It was an out of the ordinary day for the normally quiet neighborhood. Fred McKeithan has lived here for 20 years. “I didn’t know anything was going on,” he said. “I saw the helicopter circling over head and then I told my wife they found what they was looking for. The next thing I saw was all these police cars.”

Other neighbors watched detectives clear Michael Herdman’s shed, plant after plant, concerned for the children who live nearby. “My baby girl and his baby girl used to play together, running back and forth,” said Keith Lovett. “This is a total shock to all of us.”

Detectives said two young children lived with Herdman and DSS was notified.

While the total seizure has yet to be weighed, undercover agents estimate they have taken between thirty to forty pounds of pot off the streets.

Michael Herdman makes his first court appearance Tuesday.

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There was a major home-grown marijuana bust in Brunswick County Monday night. Detectives with the sheriff’s office seized more than 150 marijuana plants from a Shallotte house, with an estimated street value of more than $500,000.

Associated poll

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One hundred and sixty-seven marijuana plants were seized from Michael Wayne Herdman’s Shallote home on Snapper Street. He is facing six charges, five of which are felonies, including possession with intent to sell, trafficking and manufacturing marijuana.

The pot plants ranged in size from inches tall to more than eight feet. The bust is a result of an eradication operation. Along with the SBI, and a highway patrol helicopter, detectives and undercover agents began searching for growing operations. In just eight hours, the house was spotted, searched and seized. “We’re sure that there’s a lot of it that we have yet to find, and I assure you we will be looking for it,” said Brunswick County Sheriff John Ingram.

It was an out of the ordinary day for the normally quiet neighborhood. Fred McKeithan has lived here for 20 years. “I didn’t know anything was going on,” he said. “I saw the helicopter circling over head and then I told my wife they found what they was looking for. The next thing I saw was all these police cars.”

Other neighbors watched detectives clear Michael Herdman’s shed, plant after plant, concerned for the children who live nearby. “My baby girl and his baby girl used to play together, running back and forth,” said Keith Lovett. “This is a total shock to all of us.”

Detectives said two young children lived with Herdman and DSS was notified.

While the total seizure has yet to be weighed, undercover agents estimate they have taken between thirty to forty pounds of pot off the streets.

Michael Herdman makes his first court appearance Tuesday.

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There was a major home-grown marijuana bust in Brunswick County Monday night. Detectives with the sheriff’s office seized more than 150 marijuana plants from a Shallotte house, with an estimated street value of more than $500,000.

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RALEIGH — North Carolina’s General Assembly is closing down for the year after six months of work dominated by the recession, a tight state budget and tax increases.

The House and Senate each scheduled ceremonial sessions Tuesday to adjourn the General Assembly’s legislative work.

Lawmakers spent most of their energy this year balancing service cuts against tax increases in one of the worst recessions in generations. The tough economic times didn’t stop lawmakers from banning cigarette smoke from restaurants and bars, extending tax breaks to Apple Inc. and other businesses promising to create jobs, and bailing out the state-funded health insurance plan for its employees, retirees and teachers.

Lawmakers plan to return to Raleigh in May.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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North Carolina’s General Assembly is closing down for the year after six months of work dominated by the recession, a tight state budget and tax increases.